Identity theft tip sheet: What to do if an ID thief is using your stolen information

Identity theft gets overhyped because an entire industry has glommed on to consumer fears about it.

Some types of identity theft are relatively easily dealt with. If your credit card account is compromised, you can spot the fraudulent charge on your statement, dispute it and request a new account number to head off further problems.

But there are a few stickier types of identity theft that pose real problems for consumers -- namely frauds involving new accounts, utilities and benefits. These can go undetected for months, even years, and they can be tough to fix.

This quick primer will help you protect yourself from real threats and clean up damage.

Anytime

• Consider proactively freezing your credit report, which can prevent some types of new-account fraud. For details about credit security freezes and fees in Ohio, see the freeze entry on my blog. Under Ohio law, ID theft victims can get freezes free of charge. (See details below.)

• Check your credit reports. Federal law lets you get a free credit report each year from the three credit bureaus. Stagger your requests so you get a report from a different bureau every four months. Check for credit accounts that aren't yours, debt collection accounts and inquiries from companies you don't do business with. Order from any of the three major credit bureaus through annualcreditreport.com or 1-877-322-8228.

If you are notified of a data breach

• Call the company that sent the notice to see if you can get details about what information about you was exposed, lost or stolen. Find out the period of time in which the breach occurred. The more you know about the incident, the better you can protect yourself.

• If a bank or credit card account information was stolen, contact your bank for a new account number (this won't harm your credit score) and check your statements for unauthorized withdrawals or charges dating back to the breach. If you change your account number, don't forget to notify companies that autobill your account or you could miss a payment.

• If your Social Security number was taken, you're at greater risk for new account fraud.

• Put a fraud alert on your credit reports if you haven't already frozen them. Fraud alerts aren't very effective as deterrent to ID theft, but when you place one, the credit bureaus will send you copies of your credit reports. These are in addition to the free annual credit reports you're entitled to receive every 12 months.

• File an ID theft complaint with the Federal Trade Commission. That report will be useful if you find fraudulent charges later, and it also helps the FTC track ID theft trends. If you prefer, you can call the FTC's ID theft hot line at 1-877-382-4357.

• Stay alert for signs of ID theft. Red flags include bills sent to you for accounts you know nothing about, missing bills or mail (which could indicate someone changed an address on one of your accounts), or debt collection calls for debts you don't owe.

• Pay attention to Social Security income statements that are mailed out from time to time to make sure no one used your Social Security number to work illegally in the country.

If you suspect someone is using your stolen information

• Follow all of the advice for a breach victim above, plus:

• File a police report with your local police department and get a copy for your records.

• Under Ohio law, identity theft victims -- that means people whose info was used, not just stolen -- qualify for free credit freezes and thaws. To get a free freeze, you must write to each of the three credit bureaus. Each will assign you a PIN that entitles you to free thaws.

Send the police report, your full name your full name (including Jr., III or similar generation tags), your Social Security number, date of birth, current address (and other addresses you've lived at in the last two years) to:

* Experian Security Freeze, PO Box 9554, Allen, TX 75013. (Note: In addition to the above info, include a copy of a government-issued ID and a copy of a recent utility bill or bank statement – but not a credit card statement.)

• Any time you discover a fraudulent account in your name, contact the company involved to let it know the account is fraudulent and warn it not to hold you liable. Remind the company that it is prohibited from putting untrue information on your credit report. Include a copy of your police report.

• Get the Ohio attorney general's Passport identity theft victim assistance kit at ohioattorneygeneral.gov/IdentityTheft or by calling 1-888-694-3463. If someone used your identity to get government benefits or dodge prosecution for a crime, consider applying for the Ohio Identity Theft Verification Passport.

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